McNaughton worried about possible U.S. economic opportunities

Monte McNaughton wrote to Premier Kathleen Wynne last year after Donald Trump was elected president, openly stating his concern for Ontario’s manufacturing sector.

And with a slew of new pro-business announcements out of the United States, McNaughton has renewed his campaign. The Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP wrote another letter to Premier Wynne on Tuesday, stressing a sense of urgency.

“Look, I’ve been clear – Ontario lost over 300,000 well-paying manufacturing jobs in the last 13 years, including many in Southwestern Ontario,” McNaughton said. “I’ve seen no indication that the premier and this Liberal government is making Ontario competitive.”

The letter comes after Ford and Fiat Chrysler announced decisions to invest in new U.S. factories. Ford abandoned plans for a $1.6-billion manufacturing plant in Mexico last week, instead committing $700 million to a four-year project in Michigan. Fiat Chrysler, meanwhile, will invest more than $1 billion in projects in Michigan and Ohio.

Both companies denied Trump’s influence on the moves, but said they appreciated his concern for the automotive industry.

Sergio Marchionne, CEO for Fiat Chrysler, also indicated the company might be forced to close some of their Mexico plants if Trump's proposed tax policies go through.

In Ontario the economy has mostly recovered and exceeded its pre-2008 level. But the results vary from sector to sector. Some industries, most notably manufacturing, have yet to recover. Regions that depend on manufacturing like Southwest Ontario are therefore struggling more than the province as a whole.

McNaughton fears Wynne’s priorities do not extend into rural Ontario.

“I don’t think the Liberals understand the effects that their policies are having on people in the province,” McNaughton said. “I’ve been clear that a lot of economic policies need to be reversed … cap and trade, expensive contracts. There’s a number of things.”

One thing McNaughton mentioned was accelerated depreciation, allowing companies to write equipment purchases off as tax breaks at the time of purchase. He says it’s one of many suggestions he keeps hearing from businesses in his riding.

“A better economic plan would be to have lower taxes, affordable energy, smaller government and fewer regulations so employers can focus on creating jobs,” he said. “I'm a big believer in Ontario. With common sense economic policy and smaller government that gets out of the way, we can compete with anyone in the world.”